Grand Moff Claudius Rodney stood silently on the
bridge of the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer
Warspite. The vessel had served as his command ship
for years, and he had come to learn every inch of
her. During his time in the Admiralty he often spent
long hours aboard the bridge working with the
officers, but since becoming a regional governor he
had hardly visited the area, instead being locked
away in his office. When he first arrived hours ago
the crew looked up at him feeling both confused and
surprised ... some were even a little afraid. He did
not speak to them or issue any orders, but instead
walked slowly down the command walkway, nodding at
each one of them, and examining what he saw like it
was the first time. But it was not the first time ...
it was the last.

Captain Tiberius Anson had been standing with his
officers, giving the regional governor the space he
needed to do whatever it was he was doing. At first
he did not pay much attention to the man and
respected his privacy, but as the hours drew on, and
his become increasingly uneasy with his presence, he
decided he had not choice but to talk to him. The
Corellian moved slowly towards the governor, placing
a hand on his shoulder, and leading him towards the
viewport at the front of the bridge. Out the window
the rest of the fleet came into view with hundreds
of support craft darting to and fro. "Governor ... is
everything alright?" he asked, quietly, his back
turned to his junior officers so that they could not
eavesdrop or read his lips.

Before the governor could reply, Lieutenant
Meham'ohorovi'cloca's red eyes widened as the
largest sensor blip she had ever seen appeared on
her display. Believing the terminal to be
malfunctioning, she adjusted several knobs and
switches to focus on the area where the blip
occurred. "Lieutenant Ames, please confirm my sensor
readings," she said coldly and methodically, as she
turned to the insufferable redhead who occupied the
station in the crewpit opposite her. She simply
could not accept what her instruments were
displaying, despite her intricate understanding of
the technology behind it.

Lieutenant Allegra Ames had made a career of
allowing her subordinate petty officers do the work
for her. She had been standing there, as if intently
reading a datapad, but was in actuality watching a
cheap, tawdry holovid outside of the view of her
superiors. "I'm sure your readings are accurate,"
she said, without raising her eyes from the datapad
to acknowledge the Chiss. She could feel the woman's
red eyes burning a hole in her as she stared
intently across the ship, which caused her to
realize that if she did not confirm the readings she
would never get any peace. "Ugh. Fine!" she groaned,
as she tucked away the datapad, and moved towards
her terminal. Her mouth hung open the moment she saw
the size of the target. It was then that an idea
caught her imagina, and she arched her left eyebrow
with a soft smirk upon her painted crimson.
"Commander Hood, I've detected a large, unidentified
sensor contact exiting hyerspace. We have no record
of anything like it in our databank," she reported
to her superior, stealing the credit from
Meham'ohorovi'cloca for being the first to identify
it. She snickered softly, winking at the Chiss, as
she confidently moved towards the first officer.

Commander Augustus Hood was reviewing the
deployment of the various TIE squadrons throughout
the Essesia system now that other ships had joined
their formation when he was interrupted by
Lieutenant Ames. There were no capital ships
expected to arrive, and he doubted the Rebellion
would dare send one of their cruisers into such a
densely fortified system. "Did you confirm the
readings?" he asked, looking towards the Chiss
tactical officer, who silently nodded in the
affirmative. His attention then shifted down the
walkway towards the Grand Moff and the Captain, who
seemed to be in private conversation. Under almost
every circumstance he would have allowed them their
privacy, but a massive sensor reading could not go
unreported. He moved deliberately towards the duo,
allowing his boots to fall heavier than normal to
herald his arrival. "Beg to report," he said,
apprehensively, after clearing his throat. When they
both nodded at him he felt comfortable to proceed.
"There is a massive contract approaching on our
sensors ... like nothing we have seen before," he
reported, somewhat apprehensively, as he waited for
his orders.

The Grand Moff knew what the contact was and for
the first time since his daughter disappeared a
smile curled upon his middle-aged lips. "C'mon," he
said to the Captain and the Commander, as he raised
his arms to place a hand on each of their shoulders.
He ushered them away from the viewport and back
towards the crew pits where the junior officers were
stationed. "Lieutenant Sheppard ... plot an intercept
course," he said to her, as he looked down at the
youngest officer on the bridge. With a spring in his
step, as if he were suddenly half his age, he
bounded back down the walkway towards the forward
viewports. Taking up a position in front of them, he
folded his hands behind his back, and lifted his
heels off the deck several times in rapid succession
in an uncharacteristic display of enthusiasm.

"Aye, sir. Plotting an intercept course,"
Lieutenant Bethany Sheppard replied, but moved
slowly until she got a confirmatory nod from Captain
Anson. Using the sensor data provided by Lieutenant
Ames, she entered in a new course that would
intercept them with the large sensor blip. The large
Star Destroyer began to turn, its engines coming to
life, as it began to move at top speed towards the
target. "Course laid in and we are underway," she
reported, monitoring the controls in close
cooperation with the sensor readings. She knew that
a ship of this size did not exactly stop on a dime,
and she would need plenty of time to stop the ship's
forward progress.

Captain Anson did not like being left in the
dark, and cast a sideways glance to Commander Hood,
as the Warspite began its new course. Through the
viewport the planet Esseles began to move towards
the left, while from the right they could begin to
make out the distant, dagger shaped ship. He moved
slowly towards the Grand Moff, coming to a stop
roughly a foot behind him. His eyes were locked on
the visual contact rather than the governor, as he
wondered what this was about. "Anything you want to
tell me?" he asked, sounding a little annoyed, as he
displayed that Corellian boldness that rarely
existed in the Imperial officer corps.

As the Warspite moved through the blackness of
space it became clear what the contact was ... the
Executor-class Star Dreadnought that they had
arranged for from Kuat Drive Yards. "The Retributor!"
the Grand Moff exclaimed, without turning around to
look the Captain in the eyes. The closer they moved
towards his new commander ship, the wider his eyes
became and the brighter his facial expression
looked. "She's here. She's finally here," he said,
as he finally turned to the bridge officers.
"Tiberius, alert your daughter to have the Kwai
prepared for departure," he said, as he looked him
confidently in the eyes. "Augie, I want you and the
other senior staff to pack your things, and meet me
on the hangar bay in one half hour," he ordered,
before sprinting towards the turbolift to gather his
things.

"Would someone care to explain to me what's going
on?" an annoyed Allegra complained, as she looked up
at Captain Anson and Commander Hood. She had spent
so much time learning the ins and outs of the
Warspite, and assembling a cast of junior officers
that served her and did her bidding. Even though the
Retributor was a much larger ship, the idea of
having to start her web of underlings fresh did not
appeal to her. Plus, being assigned to one of the
largest ships in the Imperial Navy shined perhaps
too much attention on her.

"We're being reassigned," Commander Hood stated,
coldly, as he began beckoning the officers out of
the pits. "You heard the Governor. Pack your things.
Assemble on the flight deck," he ordered, saying it
much louder than the Governor did, causing
Lieutenants Ames, Meham'ohorovi'cloca, Sheppard, and
Alexander to climb up to the deck and move towards
the turbolift with Hood.

As the bridge emptied, Captain Anson slowly
walked up and down the bridge several times,
reticently. The Warspite was his first command in
the Imperial Navy and he would never forget it. Once
he was alone he pulled the black leather gloves from
his hands, and knelt down to touch the cold
durasteel deck that he stood upon these past many
years. He could fear a tear welling in his left eye,
before he inhaled sharply, as if to suck it back
into his eyes. He rose, silently, and began walking
towards the turbolift as well, before stopping, to
take one last look.

The Lambda-class shuttle Kwai was overflowing
with men and materials. Grand Moff Rodney, his wife
Htaere Ka`a Sha`ar, his adjutant Major Kerrie Kiley,
his aide Liliya Benedt, his daughter Drusilla
Rodney, his adopted daughter Ewwiekewwieikkie, and
his physician Pilaq Tohan were occupying one side of
the passenger compartment. The other half boasted
the likes of Major Min Traebor, Captain Tiberius
Anson, Commander Augustus Hood, Lieutenants Allegra
Ames, Meham'ohori'cloca, and Mark Alexander. In the
cockpit Flight Lieutenant Haven Anson, the captain's
beautiful blonde daughter, was at the controls with
assistance from a salty Lieutenant Bethany Sheppard,
who never got to fly anything smaller than a command
ship.

Flight Lieutenant Hanson was concerned by the
number of senior officers that had surged aboard her
shuttle in the early afternoon hours. "Okay, Reek.
Leaving now," she said, as she activated the
sublight engines and began the Kwai's departure from
the Warspite's hanger bay. Almost immediately as
they exited the hangar the massive 19,000 meter long
monstrosity that was the Retributor came into the
view. "Look at the size of that thing," an
overenthusiastic Hanson shouted, as she began to
accelerate towards the new command ship.

Major Reek Trolg gripped the controls of his TIE
fighter, pulling up into formation with the Kwai,
along with three of his best pilots. Although the
Imperial presence in the system was now one of the
most dominant in the core, he took his escort duty
of the governor's shuttle very seriously. The five
craft moved towards the Retributor, but rather than
go directly towards the hangar, they performed a
slow, methodical flight over the length of the
massive vessel to give it a complete visual
inspection.

Grand Moff Claudius Rodney abandoned his family,
his staff, and his crew the moment he heard Haven's
exclamation. He *had* to see what was going on from
the perspective of the cockpit, and he surged
forward through the sea of humanity. When he got
into the cockpit he placed a hand on Haven and
Bethany's shoulder for support, before leaning
forward, as if the few inches gave him an infinitely
better view of his new command ship. "You should be
proud of your father for earning such a command," he
said to Haven, flattering her father, but really he
was just using it as an opportunity to congratulate
himself once more.

At long last the Kwai completed its flight plan
and entered into the Retributor's hangar, where a
large contingent of Imperial officers, technicians,
Stormtroopers, and pilots had assembled in a
ceremony to welcome the new staff. Grand Moff Rodney
was the first off the shuttle, breathing in that new
ship smell as he boarded his new command ship for
the first time. He was smiling broadly, as he nodded
to his new officers, before his substantial
entourage began to follow behind him. "We're going
straight to the bridge!" he informed everyone, as he
was eager to show off his new vessel. There was
barely enough room for the entire mass of personnel
to cramp into the turbolift, and Htaere and
Drusilla's jewelry, and Ewwiekewwieikkie's fur
clashed with the Imperial uniforms. There was barely
any air in the lift as the crowd sucked it all in,
and the temperature seemed to instantly increase by
20 degrees. There was a loud sigh of relief as they
reached the bridge, piling out as if they were in a
clown speeder at the circus.

*Clap ... clap ... clap* the sound of three slow
claps permeated the expansive, but dark and empty
bridge of the massive Executor-class Star
Dreadnought. From within the darkness emerged she
shapely form of the blonde ISB commander, Major
Arden Zevrin. "It took you long enough," she said,
as she stalked towards them like a predator, until
she was right in front of the Governor. She raised
her hand, allowing a finger to delicately stroke at
Claudius' chin. Her eyes moved to Htaere with a
wink, the woman she had tortured to the point of
miscarriage, before her lips moved to his ear. "Did
you miss me?" she cooed softly into his ear, before
giving him a soft kiss on his cheek, that left a
noticeable lipstick stain. She took a step
backwards, tilting her head to the side and giving
him the smuggest look in the history of galactic
affairs.

Major Kerrie Kiley stepped forward with an
incredible rage, immediately unholstering her KYD-21
blaster pistol and bringing it up to an aim directly
with Arden's chest. "I'm going to finish you once
and for all," she boasted, referencing how she had
threw the woman into a terminal back aboard the
Warspite some months ago. How she had survived ... how
she had managed to commandeer the new command ship ...
these were mysteries to her. Frankly, she did not
care ... she would execute the woman on the spot if
she could and be done with it.

"Kerrie you are as predictable as always," Arden
said to the short Stormtrooper with a roll of her
eyes. She raised her left hand to the barrel of the
blaster, angling it off to the side before she
continued her speech. "If you kill me now you'll
miss all the fun ... not that you ever knew how to
have any fun," she said with a snicker, shaking her
head at the woman. "You should get yourself laid ...
if the governor had any male officers, that is," she
joked, before moving towards Htaere. "Oh you poor
thing," she said to Htaere, but in reality her eyes
were fixated on Liliya the entire time. "You so such
great poise in front of your husband's mistress. I
admire it, really... I certainly never would have been
able to stomach such an insult. But then again, I am
Human, and you, and you ... well ... are not," she said
to Htaere, before shifting her fire. "And you ... you
petite trollup. Do you only own one dress? Every
time I see you, you're wearing it. Htaere the Hapan
has changed her outfit twice just in the five
minutes we've all been aboard the bridge. Clearly,
he's not into you for your sense of style," she
said, teasing the weak Alderaanian aide. "It's the
hair, isn't it ... or rather the lack thereof," she
teased Claudius, as she moved her hand up to
Liliya's impeccably coiffed pixie hairstyle.

Liliya had been absolutely shocked when the
sudden flicker of the bridge lights revealed Arden
Zevrin, knowing that the woman had gone through a
harrowing experience and, with all things
considered, should have died. But that was not the
extent of her bewilderment that only grew as that
woman began spilling the most vile and cruel things
that Liliya could not even barely process. Why Arden
had such hatred towards her was beyond her
understanding. As the Major continued the onslaught
of brutal and vicious verbal abuse, Liliya began to
take timid steps away from the group. She desired to
run away from this shame and scrutiny, but she could
not leave her charge or her duties... but the
psychological effects were having a field day with
her internal processors. Overwhelmed with anxiety,
she began to weep pitifully while bringing up her
ever faithful datapad to try to shield her sorrow
from view. Gentle sobs heaved her small shoulders as
synthetic but very realistic tears streamed down
soft cheeks. She could not bare to look at anyone
and cast her eyes to the ground to suffer alone.

"Enough of this, Zevrin," Grand Moff Rodney
declared angrily, but not before bringing his hand
on top of Kerrie's arm to lower her hand with the
blaster pistol. "Get off *my* ship," he ordered her,
as he moved to block her from intimidating his wife
any further. His hands were tightening into fists as
his grand moment was being spoiled, and she was
sullying his new toy. The very representation of his
newfound manhood was being destroyed by his great
rival and perennial thorn in his side. He had enough
of the ISB and their meddling.

"Quite," Arden said, as she reached a right index
finger up towards Claudius, tapping him once on the
nose. "Oh you're going to love this," she began, as
she turned and began to seductively move down the
walkway. She stopped, turning suddenly, and extended
her arms as wide as she could, with a bright, broad
smile. "You're all going to love this!" she
exclaimed, before descending into a state of
hysterical laughter that might lead one to think she
were mad. She was nearly bent over from the laughter
as her long plot had finally come to fruition.
"Lights!" she ordered into the darkness, before
raising her arms in celebration.

The lights of the Retributor's bridge were
activated revealing the sight of Lady Jelena Rodney
... stripped of her clothing, and suspended, upside
down from the ceiling of the bridge. She was alive,
barely, and as she hung there unable to move, Arden
came upon her. She took her by the shoulder and
pushed her to the left roughly as if she were on a
swing, and she began to swing side to side in front
of them all, helplessly. "Father," she screamed
helplessly, as she saw him, and her family, for the
first time in several months. This was the last way
she imagined she would see them again. She was
terrified, having spent days tortured and
interrogated by the ISB, and now she had been
stripped and humiliated in front of her loved ones.

Claudius and Kerrie moved as quickly as they
could towards the dangling damsel in distress. "Get
a knife!" Claudius screamed, as he wrapped his arms
around his daughter, to stop her from moving. "It's
okay. Daddy is here," he said to her, as he cradled
her in his arms, despite the fact that she was still
upside down. Eventually Kerrie managed to undo the
suspension cable, and Claudius slowly lowered her
down to the deck. He moved to take his tunic off,
and draped it over the traumatized girl, to cover
her. "You'll pay for this, Zevrin. You'll pay for
this," he said, as he looked up at her with angry
eyes, welling with his tears, while kneeling on the
ground beside his broken child.

"Touching. Nothing like a father's love. Isn't
that right, Kerrie?" Zevrin asked, knowing full well
that her father abandoned her as a child, and then
eventually disowned her. "Oh? Too soon?" she asked,
whimsically, before revealing the recording device
she had. The entire Empire was now privy to one of
the select Grand Moffs clinging to a traitorous
Rebel criminal. "This isn't your ship, Claudius,"
she told him, coldly, as she began to size up his
officer corps. "I once had the misfortune of
visiting a Hutt early in my career who maintained a
sizable harem of slave women drawn from across the
galaxy," she said, as she turned her attention down
to the sniveling father. "Even he would say you had
too many women on your staff," she snickered,
rolling her eyes at his choice of officers. "You are
stuck with me. You are mine," she said, glowering
down at him, as she humiliated the man in front of
his family and crew. "I have implanted a device on
your precious Rebel's heart," she continued, as she
looked towards the out of place Ithorian doctor.
"Your old tree hugger cannot save her," she sneered,
as she pulled up her sleeve to reveal a specialized
device. "One touch and her heart explodes. If I
forget to change the battery due to carelessness her
heart explodes. If I roll over on it in my sleep her
heart explodes..." she continued, hovering her finger
over the button, while seductively licking her
tongue upon her lower lip. "Oh. I almost forgot,"
she said, before she knelt down to look Claudius
directly in his weak eyes. "There is a heart rate
monitor attached. If my heart stops ... her heart
explodes. Whether your Clawdite kills me, whether
I'm struck by lightning, whether I'm blown up by
Rebels, or whether I eat some spicy Rodian food ...
her heart explodes," she said, arching her eyebrows,
and getting down on the ground next to Jelena. Her
hand moved through the girl's hair slowly, stroking
it. "Basically, what I'm trying to say is, her heart
is going to explode," she said, wickedly, as she
began to laugh at herself.

Arden Zevrin had planned this for four months,
ever since Kerrie had thrown her into her own bank
of monitors. Broken, she had retreated to her home
system of Kuat, where she had used her family's
influence to take up position at Kuat Drive Yards.
From her medical suite she watched the engineers
build this vessel, while at the same time the
doctors rebuilt her. She waited for that foolish
Jelena to make a mistake, and the moment she did,
she ensured that she would have her. Now she had the
command ship and Jelena, and because of that she had
Rodney. She could have earned a promotion within the
ISB by reporting that she had captured Jelena, but
she did not. She could have had Rodney executed for
his concern over a traitor, but she did not. A
colonelcy in the bureau was too small for her and
her ambition. "You are mine. This ship is mine. Your
crew is mine," she said, as she raised back to her
feat speaking to everyone equally. "Everyone that
isn't human get the hell off my bridge. The rest of
you ... get to work," she ordered angrily, as she
moved towards the mass of personnel that assembled.
Arden Zevrin had taken command of the Ringali Shell.